I'd like to hire a lawn company to take care of my lawn but I seem to be
getting conflicting views from the ones I've talked to. One guy looked at
it and said it needed dethatched. Another who didn't look at it said they
tend not to dethatch because it stresses the lawn too much, they prefer
aeration. I was under the impression that these two treatments served
separate purposes and that each was good for a specific problem. These guys
make it seem like the two choices are alternate methods to achieve the same
goal. My lawn is only two years old (Grown from seed) and looks great from
the street however while mowing I can see many week spots. Straw was used
to cover the seed when it was planted. The straw was never removed, I was
told it would degrade over time. I use a mulching mower which might add to
the thatch along with the straw that may be remaining. I used a hand rake
in one of the week areas and pulled up a lot of thatch. This leads me to
believe that the thatch is indeed a problem. The question is what is the
best way to deal with it? Thanks very much for any help.

John